MH

• Ego defense mechanisms

  Largely unconscious distortions of thoughts or perceptions that act to reduce anxiety
• Sublimation

  Dealing with unacceptable feelings or impulses by unconsciously substituting acceptable forms of expression
• Suppression

  Voluntarily denying unpleasant thoughts and feelings
• Repression

  Unconsciously putting unacceptable ideas, thoughts, and emotions out of awareness
• Regression

  Sudden use of childlike or primitive behaviors that do not correlate with the person's current developmental level
• Displacement

  Shifting feelings related to an object, person, or situation to another less threatening object, person, or situation
• Reaction formation

  Unacceptable feelings or behaviors are controlled or kept out of awareness by overcompensating or demonstrating the opposite behavior of what is felt
• Undoing

  Performing an act to make up for prior behavior (most common in children)
• Rationalization

  Creating reasonable and acceptable explanations for unacceptable behavior
• Dissociation

  A disruption in consciousness, memory, identity, or perception of the environment that results in compartmentalization of uncomfortable or unpleasant aspects of oneself
• Denial

  Pretending the truth is not reality to manage unpleasant, anxiety-causing thoughts or feelings
• Compensation

  Emphasizing strengths to make up for weaknesses
• Identification

  Conscious or unconscious assumption of the characteristics of another individual or group
• Intellectualization

  Separation of emotions and logical facts when analyzing or coping with a situation or event
• Projection

  Attributing one's unacceptable thoughts and feelings to another who does not have them
• Introjection

  Integrating the beliefs and values of another individual into one's own ego structure
• Isolation

  The individual blocks out painful feelings by recalling a traumatic event without experiencing the emotion associated with it
• Ethics

  A branch of philosophy that deals with distinguishing right from wrong
• Moral Behavior

  Conduct that results from serious critical thinking about how individuals should treat others
• Right

  A valid, legally recognized claim or entitlement, encompassing both freedom from government interference or discriminatory treatment and entitlement to a benefit or service
• Absolute Right

  When there is no restriction whatsoever on the individual's freedom
• Utilitarianism

  An ethical theory that promotes actions based on the end result that produces the most good for the most people
• Kantianism

  Suggests that decisions and actions are bound by a sense of duty
• Christian Ethics

  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
• Natural Law Theories

  Do good and avoid evil. -human knowledge of the difference between good and evil directs decision making
• Ethical Egoism

  Decisions are based on what is best for the individual making the decision
• Ethical Dilemmas

  Situations that require individuals to make a choice between two equally unfavorable alternatives -Taking no action is considered an action taken
• Beneficence

  Refers to one's duty to benefit or promote the good of others
• Nonmaleficence

  Abstaining from negative acts toward another; includes acting carefully to avoid harm
• Justice

  Principle based on the notion of a hypothetical social contact between free, equal, and rational persons. The concept reflects a duty to treat all individuals equally and fairly
• Veracity

  Principle that refers to one's duty to always be truthful
• Nurse Practice Act

  Defines the legal parameters of professional and practical nursing -This includes the scope and the limitations of the nursing practices
• Civil Law

  Law that protects the private and property rights of individuals and businesses. -Torts and contracts
• Tort

  Violation of a civil law in which an individual has been wronged. -Intentional or unintentional. -Malpractice or negligence
• Criminal Law

  Law that provides protection from conduct deemed injurious to the public welfare
• Duty to Warn

  The exception to the client's right to confidentiality; when health-care providers are legally obligated to warn another person who is the target of the threats or plan by the client, even if the threats were discussed during therapy sessions otherwise protected by confidentiality
• Informed Consent

  An ethical principle requiring that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate
• False Imprisonment

  Deliberate and unauthorized confinement of a person within fixed limits by the use of verbal or physical means
• Negligence

  Failure to exercise care toward others that a reasonable or prudent person would do in the circumstances
• Malpractice

  Act or continuing conduct of a professional that does not meet the standard of competence and results in provable damages to the patient